LinkedIn has just come out of its list of emerging trends, the “Big Ideas for 2019”. The list touches upon issues and trends for a wide spectrum of issues ranging from economies, technologies, jobs, workplaces, etc. Many of the trends as predicted by this analysis of auger well for the gig economy in the coming year and beyond. The gig or freelance or independent work market has been growing strongly in the past few years and our analysis of the LinkedIn emerging ideas show that these trends will further strengthen the gig economy both directly or indirectly:
1. Move over, Millennials; it’s Gen Z’s time.
In 2019, Generation Z will outnumber Millennials, Gen Z — which Pew Research Center defines as those born from 1997 onward — will be about one-third of the global population and one-fifth of its workers.
The emergence of Gen Z as a dominant part of the workforce is Great news for the Gig economy as Gen Z has been found to be the most freelancing-inclined generation. Finding by ‘Upwork’ shows that Gen Z has been freelancing by choice more than any other generation: Nearly half of adult working Gen Z’s freelanced in 2018.
2&3. The economy will slow down… and companies will prepare with pre-emptive layoffs.
According to experts, the World growth is much more likely to slow down in 2019, and it really looks like 2020 could be the year of a global recession. It further says that many companies will reduce their workforce pre-emptively to preserve profits through a coming recession.
Well, this is bad news for all kinds of work opportunities….but in here there is a silver lining for the Gig workers though. Past experience tells us that recessional layoffs actually create the opportunity for freelancers. The truth is, work isn’t gone, just the people. Companies still need people to get things done, only that they would not risk hiring full-time people due to lack of visibility.
7. AI will be in every industry and every job.
It feels like we’re at an inflection point where AI technologies are being incorporated into more of the tools we use every day,” Of the 200 LinkedIn Top Voices, one in four mentioned some application of AI as their big idea for 2019.
AI is finding massive application in the recruitment space as well. In so far as the Gig space is concerned AI is set to make sourcing Gig on-demand reality and not just a promise. Use of advanced AI is helping companies like gigHub is able to scan and track freelancers across geographies and connect them with a suitable opportunity at a lightning speed.
10. Automation will disproportionately impact women’s jobs.
The automation trend, led by AI & Machine Learning, is especially challenging for women because they tend to be employed in more routine tasks than men across all sectors and occupations, making them more prone to automation.
The loss of job will get partially compensated by new types of jobs that can be done from home such as creative works, content creation, graphic designing, UI/UX etc. The gig marketplaces like Upwork, Fiverr, gigHub, Catalant, Freelancers etc. are going to play an important role in facilitating the matching of demand and supply.
21. The office will empty out.
“With cities filling up and housing prices rising, employers will have to pay more for employees to afford an urban life. Some businesses will open an office in a smaller town; more will embrace employees’ working from home. A gradual process will, in 2019, reach a tipping point: The office will empty out.
This is an important indicator of how the future of workplaces is going to evolve and the Gig Economy will play an important role in shaping this ecosystem. As offices empty out, geographical boundaries will disappear and work will increasingly get done by people sitting in diverse geographies. Such arrangements are likely to be more of transactional nature than the long term as has been the case traditionally.
22. You’ll have better access to your medical data.
Apple’s move to make medical records available on the iPhone is likely to be the first domino in a move to democratize access to, and control of, patients’ health data. Till now, entities that had access to health care data of people, such as hospitals and insurance companies, typically didn’t share it.
A development like these can usher a big transformation in the healthcare industry with a massive power shift to independent Doctors and healthcare experts away from large hospitals.
24. Financial options will catch up to the modern worker.
“the industry will need to rethink financial services that were designed for individuals that work a single job for his or her lifetime, We can already see this trickle starting in the industry. The new “UltraFICO” credit score will be rolling out early next year. “It will take into account your banking behaviour: Are you able to pay all of your bills? Are you making sure that you don’t go negative in that account?”
Unavailability of credit has been one of the major drawbacks of a career as a freelancer where banks and credit companies assess one’s repayment ability only by salary slips. New systems like FICO credit score, will open up new ways to assess the creditworthiness of people by going beyond whether one is a full-time employee or not.
27. Gig economy jobs will get less miserable.
Companies are paying more attention to their treatment of on-demand blue-collar workers. align hourly workers’ benefits with those of salaried professionals. “We are starting to see that it’s changing retention,
Working condition and rights of blue-collar gig workers have been an issue of debate all over the world. While the companies need them with over 90% of companies depending on such workers, it is important at the same time, that their rights are protected and they have access to benefits akin to salaried professionals.
Emerging Trends in the world economy in general and in the workplaces, in particular, indicates that the Gig economy is going to gain momentum and occupy central space in the future work dynamics. However, enabling systems, structures, legislation needs to keep pace to smoothen this process.
If interested, read the full article here — 50 Big Ideas for 2019
